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Is it permissible to photograph with a camera instead of an imaging device?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Photography did not exist during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Companions, nor during the flourishing of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Therefore, no explicit ruling on it has been transmitted from the predecessors. Contemporary scholars have differed on it, with some prohibiting it and others permitting it. The preponderant view is that it is forbidden, like all other forms of image-making, and is only permissible out of necessity or for the public good, due to the generality of the evidence for prohibition. Among those who favored this opinion are: Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh, Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, and Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, and this is also the stance adopted by the Permanent Committee in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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